Pope arrives in UK and tells of 'shock and sadness' over sex abuse

Pope arrives in UK and tells of 'shock and sadness' over sex abuse

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Pope Benedict XVI with the Queen

Hold on to your hat: the Queen looks stern as Pope Benedict tries to stop the wind blowing off his papal cap, called a zucchetto, at Holyroodhouse today

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Pope Benedict XVI with the Duke of Edinburgh

Royal welcome: Pope Benedict XVI was met by Prince Philip as he landed at Edinburgh airport today

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Scottish breeze played havoc with the papal cape

Holy no-see: A sharp Scottish breeze played havoc with the papal cape on the tarmac

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Pope Benedict in Edinburgh

Papal procession: Pope Benedict is driven through the streets of Edinburgh

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Pope Benedict

Papal visit: Pope Benedict XVI boards a plane in Rome on his way to the UK

Hold on to your hat: the Queen looks stern as Pope Benedict tries to stop the wind blowing off his papal cap, called a zucchetto, at Holyroodhouse today

The Pope today expressed his "shock and sadness" at the child sex abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church.

As he began the first papal state visit to Britain, Benedict XVI described paedophile priests as a "perversion" and said the Church had lacked vigilance.

Speaking in a hoarse and croaky voice on the papal plane, dubbed Shepherd One, he said: "The revelations for me were a great shock and sadness. It is hard to understand how this perversion of the priestly ministry was possible.

"We are in a moment of penance and our first thoughts must be with the victims, what we can do to help these people overcome their trauma, return them to life and restore their faith."

He also warned against the rise of "aggressive secularism" and risked controversy by comparing atheism with the rise of the Nazis.

The 83-year-old pontiff was greeted at Edinburgh airport by Prince Philip and thousands lined the streets as he was driven to the Palace of Holyroodhouse to address the Queen.

He said in his speech: "Britain strives to be a modern, multi-cultural society. In this challenging enterprise, may it always maintain its respect for the traditional values and cultural expressions more aggressive forms of secularism no longer value or even tolerate."

Hundreds of abuse cases have emerged during recent months in Ireland, the US, Belgium and Germany and the Pope himself has been condemned for failing to take decisive enough action to stamp out the problem.

This morning, however, in some of his strongest comments to date, he described the actions of paedophile priests as an "illness".

Looking tired, the Pope spoke in Italian. By his side was his personal secretary Monsignor Georg Ganswein, who occasionally leaned over to raise the microphone as Pope Benedict struggled to keep it close to his mouth.

The pontiff himself has been drawn into the sex abuse scandal, having been accused of dragging his heels over an Eighties case involving a paedophile priest in his dioceses when he was still Archbishop of Munich.

He said: "It is hard to understand how these people fall. This sadness is also due to the fact that the Church was not vigilant enough and not sufficiently fast and decisive to take the necessary measures.

"Those guilty must never have any access to young people. We know this is an illness. These people need to be protected from themselves. Prevention is crucial. We must be alert and exclude these people from the priesthood."

At some stage during his visit, Pope Benedict is expected to meet victims of clerical abuse — as he did earlier this year in Malta — in an attempt to show how the Catholic Church is taking the scandal seriously.

In his speech later at Holyroodhouse, he told the nation: "Your forefathers' respect for truth and justice, for mercy and charity, come to you from a faith that remains a mighty force for good in your kingdom, to the great benefit of Christians and non-Christians alike."

The Pope, who was forced to join the Hitler Youth as a 14-year-old schoolboy, also praised the UK's fight against the Fuhrer's "atheist extremism".

He said: "Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live". He added: "Your government and people are the shapers of ideas that still have an impact far beyond the British Isles. This places upon them a particular duty to act wisely for the common good."

The Queen said she was pleased the papal visit provided an opportunity to "deepen the relationship" between the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England and the Church of Scotland.

She told the Pope: "Your Holiness, you have said that religions can never become vehicles of hatred, that never by invoking the name of God can evil and violence be justified. We stand united in that conviction."

Benedict's four-day visit to Britain is the first official one by a Pope in more than 500 years and comes after a personal invitation by the Queen, relayed by former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He flies to London tonight for two days in the capital where he will meet David Cameron and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

WHERE TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF THE PAPAL PROCESSION

The Pope's first appearance in London will be from 10am tomorrow when he addresses 3,500 schoolchildren and students at St Mary's University College in Twickenham.

At 5pm-5.15pm he will travel from Lambeth Palace to Parliament in the Popemobile. Lambeth and Westminster bridges and Millbank will be closed from 11.30am to 9pm to allow public viewing.

There will be further road closures on Saturday, from 7am-2pm, when the Pope appears at Westminster Cathedral at 10am, and from 5pm-9pm around Hyde Park. He will travel in the Popemobile from Horse Guards to Hyde Park from 6pm to 6.30pm on Saturday. This will be preceded by a visit to Saint Peter's Residence in Vauxhall, an old people's home, at 5pm. The Hyde Park vigil is expected to end by 9pm.

Pope Benedict will be staying at the Apostolic Nunciature overlooking Wimbledon Common for the duration of his visit, where the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz, will be his host.